Llewellyn Falls is a 10-foot plunge waterfall on Silver King Creek in Alpine County, California, deep in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. Small as it is, the falls form a natural barrier that wildlife agencies use to protect the Paiute cutthroat trout, which the California Department of Fish and Wildlife calls one of the rarest trout in North America.
The falls
Silver King Creek meanders through the meadows of Upper Fish Valley, steepens through a sparsely forested stretch and drops over Llewellyn Falls at the head of Lower Fish Valley, at about 8,000 feet and some 10 miles above its confluence with the East Fork Carson River. Lidar measures a single defined drop of about 10 feet with minor cascades just upstream. A Forest Service restoration study gave the drop as about 20 feet, and earlier surveys listed 25 feet.
Getting there
The falls lie inside designated wilderness. A 13-mile loop reaches them using the Corral Valley and Silver Creek trails. Check trailhead access, wilderness permit rules and road conditions with the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest before going.
When to go
Like other Sierra Nevada streams, Silver King Creek runs highest with snowmelt in spring and early summer.
On site
Silver King Creek and its tributaries upstream of Snodgrass Creek are closed to all fishing all year to protect the trout. The Paiute cutthroat, a spotless fish with a copper-green back and peachy-pink sides, is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
History and name
The Paiute cutthroat's historic range ran from Llewellyn Falls down to a steep gorge about 6 miles downstream. After poaching cut the population, 401 fish were moved in 1946 to North Fork Cottonwood Creek in the White Mountains. On August 24, 2017, federal and state crews packed 86 of their descendants back and released them above the falls, returning the trout to Silver King Creek after 71 years. Nonnative trout have since been removed from the historic range below the falls.
Nearby
Carson Falls, on the East Fork Carson River, is about 4.7 miles away, Golden Canyon Falls about 5.4 miles and Wolf Creek Falls about 7.9 miles.
Distances are straight-line.